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Sustainable Management of Urban Soil & Fill Material

Session Moderator: Steven Parisio, NYSDEC

Federation of New York Solid Waste Associations SOLID WASTE & RECYCLING CONFERENCE The Sagamore on Lake George, Bolton Landing, NY May 21, 2018

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The soil survey is the definitive source of information on the characteristics and spatial distribution of NYC soils. Olga Vargas is a soil scientist with USDA-NRCS who worked on the NYC soil survey and has extensive experience mapping and interpreting soils in NYC and throughout NY State.

The NYC Urban Soil Institute (USI) is a clearinghouse for information on urban soils with programs including research, outreach and education, data sharing and a non-profit soil testing laboratory. Dr. Zhongqi Cheng, a founder of USI, is on the faculty at CUNY-Brooklyn College and is Director of the college’s Environmental Sciences Analytical Center. Under the leadership of Dan Walsh, the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation has pioneered the environmentally responsible management of excess fill material generated by urban site development projects.

Today’s presenters and the organizations they represent:

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Urban soils and fill materials

Human-altered or human transported soils or fill materials typically contain “artifacts” such as construction and demolition debris and residues from the historically widespread use of coal.

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Sources:

Urban fill material is generated from site development projects throughout the city.

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Sources (cont.)

Prior to being exported, much of the fill material is taken to C&D debris processing facilities, also known as fill transfer stations, where it may be crushed, sorted and screened.

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Chemical Characteristics: Urban fill materials typically contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), such as benzo(a)pyrene, and heavy metals, such as lead and mercury, at concentrations which exceed background soil concentrations in rural areas as well as health-based and groundwater quality protection-based (6 NYCRR Part 375) soil cleanup objectives.

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Unauthorized landfills for NYC fill material have proliferated in the Hudson Valley (NYSDEC/Region 3) impacting sensitive water supply lands and irreplaceable agricultural soils.

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Thank You Steve Parisio Regional Solid Waste Geologist Region 3 Office – New Paltz steve.parisio@dec.ny.gov 845-256-3126

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Sustainable Management of Urban Soil & Fill MaterialSlide Number 2 Urban soils and fill materialsSources:Sources (cont.)Chemical Characteristics:Slide Number 7Thank You